A Written Submission to the 38th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) requests due attention to the issue of human trafficking and the related issue of threats to anti-trafficking activists in India.

The ALRC has received information from its partner organisations across the country regarding the issue of human trafficking of women and children in India. According to information received from GURIA, ALRC’s partner organisation in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, anti-trafficking activists have received threats for their work against trafficking and re-trafficking of minor girls in the area. The threats have been received by their staff members, especially at the time they go to court to depose against the traffickers and others involved. The victims who were rescued by GURIA were re-trafficked from the Government home they were lodged, and they are still at large. Communication regarding this case was sent to the UN Special Rapporteur’s office earlier and ALRC’s sister organisation AHRC has received acknowledgement of the same

It is crucial that they are located and rescued urgently by the state authorities and it is hoped that the intervention of the UN Special Rapporteur’s office will force the Indian authorities to take action in these cases. The ALRC and AHRC also routinely receive information regarding trafficking of women and children near the Indo-Bangladesh border from our partner organisation, MASUM. These issues intersect with issues handled by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and ALRC urges both the mandate holders to work together the Indian authorities to ensure justice for the victims.

Finally, the ALRC/AHRC has been following up for many months on a case of missing woman, Suderkala Rai, from Sikkim, referred to us by the Impulse NGO Network, who was allegedly trafficked to Kuwait. The AHRC has sent many communications to authorities in India and Kuwait regarding this case but to no avail. Ms.Rai has been missing since January 2010 and the ALRC urges the UN Special Rapporteur and the Human Rights Council to work together and urge the Indian and Kuwaiti governments to work together to locate this missing woman, on an urgent basis.

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The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) works towards the radical rethinking & fundamental redesigning of justice institutions in Asia, to ensure relief and redress for victims of human rights violations, as per Common Article 2 of the International Conventions. Sister organisation to the Asian Human Rights Commission, the ALRC is based in Hong Kong & holds general consultative status with the Economic & Social Council of the United Nations.
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